- US Edition
The Queen Bees of Tybee County
Better Nate Than Ever meets Dumplin’ in this charming, poignant MG debut by Kyle Casey Chu, aka Panda Dulce, a founding queen of Drag Story Hour.
After making the buzzer-beating shot at the Georgia basketball state championships, Derrick Chan becomes the star of Bayard Middle School, and Derrick’s single dad could not be prouder. But there are parts of Derrick that no one knows about, like the toenail polish he wears under his basketball sneakers, his secret lip-sync performances in the bathroom mirror, and the feelings he’s developing for his best friend and teammate, JJ.
As the school year comes to a close, Derrick’s dad takes an out-of-town job and ships Derrick off to spend the summer with his estranged, eccentric grandmother, Claudia. Soon, Claudia introduces Derrick to the world of small-town southern beauty pageants, and Derrick suddenly feels he’s found where he belongs. But when the opportunity arises to compete in the town pageant, Derrick is forced to decide just how much of himself he’s ready to show the world.
Can he learn to love and accept the most unique parts of himself? And what will happen if others—like his father and JJ—can’t do the same?
Praise for The Queen Bees of Tybee County:
Indies Introduce Title for Winter/Spring 2025
“Kyle Casey Chu has given us a novel about the daring it requires to see our full selves, and the exhilaration and rightness of embracing who we are. A joyful, glittering, loving debut by an author to watch.” —Nina LaCour, Michael L. Printz-winning author of We Are Okay and Watch Over Me
“This sweet and surprising book just ramps up the excitement the deeper it gets. Marked by unforgettable characters, and teenaged joy and angst that feels so real, this is a spectacular debut!” —Michelle Tea, author of Modern Magic
“The Queen Bees of Tybee County is a heartfelt celebration of authenticity that asks us all to follow our joy. Laugh out loud funny and tear-jerkingly emotional, Kyle Casey Chu has gifted younger and older readers alike with a stunning novel about letting our true selves shine.” —Kacen Callendar, award-winning author of King and the Dragonflies
“A heart-warming but never hackneyed story about finding the courage to revel in your authentic self. The Queen Bees of Tybee County is a glitter-bomb of joy and affirmation in a time when many of us need it more than ever before.”—Dashka Slater, author of NYT bestselling true crime narrative, The 57 Bus
“Kyle’s debut dazzles with heart in this bold, beautiful story about embracing your true self and the value of having an affirming community behind you every step of the way. Derrick Chan has my vote for queen bee of queer middle grade this year.” —Taylor Tracy, author of Murray Out of Water
The Queen Bees of Tybee County is a collaboration project with Working Partners.
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The Author

Working Partners
Working Partners is a fiction packager for children–and occasionally adults –with an outstanding track record. Their books have sold over 200 million copies across more than 170 series and cover every genre, from big fantasy and horror, to friendship stories and rom coms.
They create stories from their own ideas or to meet a specific request from a publisher. Their reach is global, creating series’ for leading publishers in China, France, Germany, Japan and of course the UK and the USA.
They routinely spend a year developing projects, creating meticulously crafted plots to which they attach the strongest possible writers. The result is stories beloved by readers around the world.
Projects are represented by Kristin Ostby.

Kyle Casey Chu
Kyle Casey Chu, also known as Panda Dulce (she/her), is a San Francisco born and raised writer and one of the founding queens of the Drag Queen Story Hour. Her work centers Queer & Trans People of Color (QTPOC) stories, a traditional chosen families and displaced San Franciscans. Kyle’s work has been featured on Vogue, NPR, NBC, HuffPost, VICE, Paramount+, Prime Video, them.us, at Harvard & MIT’s Broad Institute, as part of the White House’s “It’s On Us” campaign, and more. Her writing has received awards from the Sundance Institute, the San Francisco Arts Commission and the California Arts Council.
For more information, visit kylecaseychu.com.
Kyle is represented by Kristin Ostby.